Cantaloupi

MEMORANDUM

Donald R. Cantaloupi, Jr. appeals his jury trial conviction for possession of an unregistered destructive device in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d) (Count 1) and possession of a destructive device not identified by a serial number in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861® (Count 2).

Cantaloupi first argues that the government failed to establish an essential element of Count 1, namely that the destructive device he possessed was unregistered on the day he possessed it. He contends the registry search certificate introduced by the government did not establish that the pipe bomb was unregistered on the date of his arrest, because the certificate was prepared some sixteen months later, at which time the pipe bomb was in the custody and control of the United States. He focuses on language in the certificate which states the registry is “of all firearms not in the possession or under the control of the United States,” to argue that there was no record of registry because on the date the search was conducted, the pipe bomb was in the possession of the United States. This argument has no merit.

The plain language of the certificate sufficiently established the lack of…